


One of Us Running Out

by wouldbflat



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Reggie Peters Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters Needs a Hug (Julie and The Phantoms)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wouldbflat/pseuds/wouldbflat
Summary: Reggie’s eyes dart back and forth between his friends as they yell at each other. They’re getting louder and louder, instruments are being discarded and they’re getting closer and closer and Reggie knows he should stop this but they’re too far gone and suddenly everything is too much, too loud and every part of him is screaming get out get out get out so he listens and poofs out of the studio.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (mentioned), Julie Molina & Reggie Peters
Comments: 9
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first JATP fic, so I apologize if everyone's a little OOC. When I first saw my little sister watching this show, I did not expect to fall in love with it myself. But wow, these three dead boys have really made an impression on me. Anyways, as this is my first fic for the fandom, I wanted to start with kind of a cliché one. As I get more comfortable writing their characters, I'll move on to more original storylines. I hope you enjoy!

Reggie tries not to groan as the music comes to a stop _again_. This is the third time they’ve had to stop, Alex and Luke not playing in sync as they usually do. Reggie can feel the tension in the air, thick and heavy on his shoulders, and he braces himself for the storm he knows is coming.

Not surprisingly, Luke is the one to bring up their discoordination. “Alex, man,” he starts, and Reggie knows Alex can hear the barely restrained exasperation in his voice. “What’s up with you lately?”

Reggie winces, knowing this was the wrong thing to say to the drummer. They all knew how much Willie’s absence had been affecting Alex, but Luke was clearly losing his patience. They hadn’t seen the other ghost since they played at the Orpheum, and Alex was getting more and more anxious by the day.

As expected, Alex bristles at the question. “What’s up with me? What’s up with you?” he half-shouts angrily.

“Me?” Luke retorts. “I’m not the one who’s been messing up all day. That’s all you, man.”

“Well I’m sorry that I’ve been a little distracted these past few days,” Alex shoots back. “I mean, it’s not like my friend is missing or anything!”

“That’s exactly my point!” Luke shouts. “You’re too focused on Willie to actually play with us!”

“Too focused on- What the hell, Luke? He’s my friend, of course I’m going to be worried-”

“Yeah, well maybe you don’t care enough-”

“Maybe you care too much-”

“Are you sure you even-”

“Are you sure _you_ -”

Reggie’s eyes dart back and forth between his friends as they yell at each other. They’re getting louder and louder, instruments are being discarded and they’re getting closer and closer and Reggie _knows_ he should stop this but they’re too far gone and suddenly everything is too much, too loud and every part of him is screaming _get out get out get out_ so he listens and poofs out of the studio. 

\---

Julie groans as she unlocks the door to her house. She unceremoniously dumps her bag on the floor and stumbles her way towards the stairs. 

Homework can wait. First, she needs a nap. 

As she makes her way down the hallway, Julie can hear faint sounds coming from inside her room. Bracing herself to give another lecture on boundaries, Julie is surprised to find just Reggie sitting on her bed. Any thought of scolding the boys flies out of her head as she sees the bassist. 

He’s sitting on her bed, knees drawn up to his chest. His head is resting on his knees, eyes focused on a spot just beside her door. He looks so zoned out, Julie wonders if he even knows she’s there. 

“Reggie?” she asks softly. His head jerks up at her words, and he quickly wipes the sleeve of his flannel over his eyes.

“Julie, hey.” he sniffles. “Sorry-I know you don’t want us in here but-I just-I’ll go.”

“No!” she practically yells. She curses herself as she sees him flinch at the volume of her voice. “Sorry,” she tries again in a softer tone, taking a slow step towards her bed. “I meant; you can stay. I really don’t mind.”

Reggie still looks uncertain. “Are you sure?”

“As long as you weren’t snooping around.” she reassures him. “You weren’t snooping, were you?” This, at least, draws a small smile out of him.

“No snooping here,” he says. “Promise.”

She grins at him, before moving to sit at the edge of her bed. “Are you okay?” she asks softly.

Reggie nods, still not looking at her, then swallows and shakes his head. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Reggie shakes his head again, and when he looks at her his eyes are glassy. “Can you just-um...never mind.” He says quickly, looking away.

“Hey,” Julie says, scooching a bit closer. “What do you need?”

Reggie is quiet for a moment, and Julie sits patiently. She can tell the last thing he needs right now is to be pushed to talk.

“Can you just,” he says after a minute. “Can you just sit with me?”

“Of course,” Julie says, heartbreaking a little at the pain on his face. She crawls up the bed so she’s sitting against the headboard next to him. “This okay?” she asks. When Reggie nods, she leans her head against his shoulder and takes his hand. He squeezes her hand, and rests his head on top of hers.

They’re quiet for a while, just basking in the peaceful silence of each other’s company. Julie desperately wants to know what happened, why they guys aren’t here with Reggie, but she knows she can’t fish for details right now.

As though sensing her curiosity, Reggie speaks up. “The, uh. The guys started fighting. Again. It was stupid, everyone’s just worried about Willie, especially Alex, but Luke’s starting to get fed up and it all just started piling up until-”

“Hey,” Julie cuts him off before he can work himself up too much. “Take a deep breath, it’s okay.”

She feels Reggie nod against her head, and squeezes his hand in hers. She lets him gather his thoughts again before gently asking, “Were they yelling at you?”

“No,” Reggie says immediately. “No, of course not. It’s just-I didn’t… My parents used to fight. A lot. All the time, actually.”

“Reggie,” Julie starts, trying to keep the heartbreak out of her voice.

“It’s okay, Julie.” Reggie says, closing his eyes and letting a few tears slip out. “I always had the guys. I still do. Sometimes things just get a little…”

“Heated.” Julie supplies.

Reggie chuckles at that. “You can say that again. I know they’re not my parents, I know they’d never really yell at me like that, but... ” he trails off, unsure how to explain.

“I get it.” Julie says. “Well, not really. But I know what you mean. And I’m so sorry, Reggie.”

She feels him shrug. “It’s okay,” he says. “Like I said, I always had the guys.”

Luke and Alex choose this time to poof into her room. 

“Reggie, where’d you go, man? We didn’t finish rehearsal.” Luke asks. Then he balances as he sees the tears on Reggie’s face. “Reggie, you okay?”

For a second, all Julie can do is stare at them, wondering how dense they could possibly be. Then she feels Reggie tense against her and tells them, “Go meet me in the studio.” They must hear the barely repressed rage in her voice, because neither of them complain. They just shoot one more concerned glance at Reggie and poof right back out of her room.

Julie takes a moment to quiet her anger before she turns to Reggie. “Do you want to go talk to them?” she asks gently. 

Reggie shakes his head, and she squeezes his hand one last time before getting up.

“Okay, but I do.” she says. “Someone has to knock some common sense into their thick skulls.”

Reggie smiles at this, so she counts it as a win. “I’ll be right back,” she tells him. “Promise.”

\---

From the top of the stairs, Julie can hear her dad moving around in the kitchen. She braces herself, knowing she has to act as normal as possible or risk getting stopped by her dad. And she will not make Reggie wait alone for one more moment than possible.

“Be right back, Dad.” she says as she passes her dad, hoping her tone sounded normal. “Just going out to the studio for something.

“Alright, _mija_.” her dad says. “Dinner will be ready in 30.”

“Thanks Dad!”

As she winds her way down to the studio, Julie thinks about what she wants to say to the two boys waiting for her. By the time she reaches the studio doors, she has quite a few things in mind. 

As she enters the studio, she sees Luke and Alex sitting on the couch waiting for her. The former looks about two seconds from popping right back into her room, and the latter is bouncing his knee anxiously. They both look up as she enters, and Luke shoots to his feet, Alex right behind him. 

“Is Reggie okay?” Alex asks, voice filled with concern. 

“Yeah, what happened?” Luke asks, his eyes searching hers for answers.

Julie’s not about to let them off that easy, though. “You guys seriously have no idea what upset him?” she asks incredulously. 

The boys look at each other in confusion before turning back to her. “Um... no?” Luke says hesitantly. “One minute Alex and I were just arguing and the next Reggie disappeared.”

Julie can barely repress an eyeroll. “Guys. He left _because_ you were fighting. He said you were practically screaming at each other.”

They look at each other guiltily, but Julie’s not done yet. 

“And you know who you reminded him of?” she adds. She sees the color drain from their faces, sees the movement they make to go poof away, but she grabs their arms before they can leave.

“No, you can _not_ just poof in there right now!” she tells them.

“But Julie-” Luke tries to interrupt, but she keeps talking.

“The last thing that poor boy needs right now is to be startled by you two suddenly appearing out of nowhere. So you are going to walk back up there with me, and you are going to wait until I tell you to come into my room. Got it?” she says, dripping their arms together for emphasis. 

“Got it,” they both mumble. Julie releases their arms and marches out of the studio. She doesn’t bother to look behind her, knowing the boys don’t want to cause any more problems tonight.

As they reach her bedroom door, Julie turns around and holds a finger out to the boys. “Wait,” she tells them. When they both nod, Julie opens her door.

Reggie is still sitting on her bed, in the same position as she left him in. “Reggie?” she calls out softly as she closes the door behind her. “The guys are here. They want to apologize. Do you want to talk to them?”

Reggie takes a minute to think about it before he wipes his eyes and nods. 

“Okay.” Julie says. When she pulls her door open, Luke and Alex fall inside, clearly been caught eavesdropping. 

“We, uh-” Alex starts, but Julie shakes her head. 

“It’s not me you need to apologize to.”

As the boys make their way over to Reggie, she steps out into the hallway, giving them privacy. They’ll come and get her when they’re ready. 

But for now, she knows Reggie is in good hands.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wasn't really planning on adding a second chapter to this, but a few people had asked so I figured, why not? I'm still not sure why anyone would actually request my writing, but I hope you enjoy this second chapter! Happy Valentine's Day!

As Julie shuts the door behind her, Luke and Alex make their way over to the edge of the bed. Luke stops, not sure if he’s welcome, but Reggie pats the space next to him. Luke hesitantly sits down on one side of their friend as Alex sits on the other. 

Reggie immediately leans his head on Luke’s shoulder, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

“Reg,” Alex starts, sounding choked up. “We are so sorry.”

“Yeah, man.” Luke adds, resting his head on top of Reggie’s. “Alex and I just got caught up, we didn’t mean to scare you.”

He can feel Reggie shake his head. “Didn’t scare me,” the bassist mumbles. 

Luke sincerely doubts that, and he can feel the confusion radiating off of Alex too, but they both wait quietly for Reggie to continue. 

After a moment, Reggie speaks again. “I know you two would never hurt me,” he says into Luke’s shoulder. “I guess I was just worried that this was it.”

Luke looks over to Alex, but the drummer seems just as confused as he is. “What do you mean, Reg?” The drummer asks. 

“...That this was the end of the band.” Reggie says it so quietly that Luke has to strain to hear it, but his stomach drops all the same. 

“Reggie,” Luke chokes out. “Why would you think that?”

Reggie sniffles and buries his head further into Luke’s neck. “I just figured that things were pretty stressful right now, with everything that’s going on, and that you guys would need a break from me.” He says the last part so softly that Luke almost misses it. 

“Reggie,” Luke tries, but the bassist keeps going.

“I know I’m annoying and I never have any big contributions to your songs Luke, and I’m just so  _ stupid  _ and I figured you’d be sick of me by now so I-”

“Reggie,” Alex cuts him off. “Look at me.” When Reggie doesn’t lift his head, the drummer squeezes his hand. “Please?” he asks. 

The bassist slowly sits up to face Alex. “You are  _ not  _ stupid, and will never, ever be sick of you. I promise.” 

Reggie looks unconvinced, so Luke adds his support. “Yeah man,” he says, grabbing Reggie’s other hand. “We’d be lost without you. Who else would write terrible country songs to sneak into my notebook?”

Reggie laughs wetly, but Luke knows he can hear the hidden meaning behind his words. Just to make sure his point has gotten across, he leans into his friend’s side. “We love you, man.” Luke says softly. 

“You mean the world to us, Reg.” Alex adds.

Reggie sniffles again before saying, “I love you guys too.” The bassist sinks into his friend’s hold, and they sit basking in each other’s presence. 

They’ve been sitting for a while when Julie knocks on the door and poked her head in. “Everything okay in here?” she asks softly, looking mostly at Reggie.

“Yeah,” Reggie reassures her. “We’re all good now.” 

Julie smiles, stepping fully into the room, and opens her arms. “Group hug?” she asks.

Reggie scrambles off the bed immediately, and practically jumps into her arms. Julie laughs and hugs him in return. Luke climbs off the bed a slower pace, coming up behind Reggie to wrap his arms around the both of them. He feels Alex do the same on the other side of Julie, and he sinks into the hug. 

They stand there for a while before Julie steps back. “Now that that’s out of the way,” she says, and Luke only has a moment to register her words before she’s grabbing his ear and pinching gently. 

“Ow, Julie!” Luke whines. He sees Alex in the same position on his other side, and Reggie is barely suppressing the grin on his face. 

“So you two idiots have finally sorted your stuff out?” Julie says, almost shouting in their faces. 

“Julie, we-” Alex tries, but Julie cuts him off. 

“No,” she says. “You two are going to shut up and  _ listen  _ for once in your lives. Okay?” They nod dejectedly, so she continues. “What were you two fighting about? Do you even remember?”

Luke opens his mouth to argue back, but he sees Alex shake his head. Luke snaps his mouth shut, realizing it’s probably better to just let Julie yell at them for a little bit. They deserve it anyways. 

“Was it really so important that you made your friend feel like that? Huh?”

Luke tunes out a little after that, mainly focusing on the way Reggie giggles every time Julie waves her hands for emphasis, dragging their heads along by accident. 

Luke knows that he and Alex messed up, but he knows things are better now. He knows they still need to talk to Reggie about his self-worth issues, and he and Alex need to work out the issues in a better way, but those are problems for another day.

For now, he’s happy to see his friend smiling again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!! Let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still not sure about writing the apology scene between the two guys, so let me know if you'd like to see a second chapter containing that. If there's any tags you think I need to add, please let me know!
> 
> If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> If you'd like to scream with me about the show, my email is in my profile, feel free to send me a message. I'm also on tumblr under the same username.


End file.
